Moving On
by Hatane
Summary: When family reunions turn out unexpected, he comes to give her that helping hand to help her move on.


**A/N: Yes, it's me! Anyway, this story's quite nice, and by far my longest! I'll give you the exact stats: ****3,336 words, about 6 pages long, on the story. Yes, I do admit that much was spent on the Flashback, but I wanted to give that contest a good detail.**

**I know you people also want me to post the next chapter of 'Sweetest Rose'. Yes, I do too, but I'm really trying to give it the good zap that the story needs. I've been delaying it for a ****very**** long time now, I understand. I had the sudden idea for this story, so I gladly present it to you! Usually, when a story idea comes out, I start to write, and try to finish that chapter quickly, or the idea disappears. I've been working on it for a few days now, and I hope you people enjoy it! Do leave me a message through PM or you can leave a review. I check my mail every day, so the worst of feedback is welcomed.**

She shuffled her feet, tearing slightly as she tugged at her black socks, squeezing her gloved hands now and then, uneasy as she curled her feet up to her chest. The brunette fumbled around with the bandana on her head, running her fingers through that brown hair of hers. She let out a soft sigh, clutching her knee caps, gazing down at the lake that was called Lake Valor, if she wasn't wrong.

She gently let her fingers run through the calm water that only rippled now and then. It wet the tips of her gloved fingers, but she didn't really mind at that time. What was going to take her mind off the past events? Perhaps Wartortle would like some time out of his Pokéball. She could practise her contest appeals again.

'Wartortle, stage it!' she said, spinning her lean body as she threw the red and white capsule towards the air, arched at a forty-five degree angle. The evolution of Squirtle appeared, spinning in his shell as he sprayed water from the holes of his shell. The water started to twirl along with the shell, as he stopped mid air. May commanded for an Ice Beam, which the Wartortle followed, shooting the icy blue coloured beam out from his mouth. The water hadn't fallen just yet, as they froze, the small frozen pellets of water dropping slowly, cushioned by a Bubble attack. The Wartortle froze himself on a Bubble, gently rocking himself down to the ground.

She nodded, but frowned a little.

'It seems to be missing something…' she thought to herself, returning the Pokémon. He grinned to his master, before disappearing in a flash of red light into the capsule again. May bit her lip, she was still upset. Contest practices weren't helping her regain her happy-go-lucky self. Pocketing the Wartortle's Pokéball, she looked down again, reminiscing about the events that happened just this early morning.

'_Max?! Why would you, of all people be here?' she shrieked, shocked at the fact that her younger brother, having turned eleven this year, was standing right before her, at the Contest Hall of Hearthome City, Sinnoh. He laughed a little, still having to look up at his sister. Even though he had a little growth spurt, he still wasn't tall enough to tower over his already slightly lanky sister._

_He smirked, tossing a Pokéball in his right hand as he replied to her, 'Well, I already went through the Kanto League, I may not have won, but Gallade and I got to the Top Four. We're now doing the Sinnoh League, and apparently my older sister is here for her contests here too. I decided to take a short break from battling gyms, so why not a contest for now? Hearthome's got beautiful scenery.'_

_She clutched Umbreon's Pokéball tightly, as she tried to control her emotions. Max had changed so much in just those two years away from him.Johto hadn't been too good, she got beaten by Drew in the final battle, who had emerged as Top Coordinator in the Johto Grand Festival. The incident had taken the brunette some time to get over, and she wanted a better chance at Sinnoh. She had already taken one ribbon of her quota to enter the Grand Festival here, and Max was right here, right now, in front of her face, going to enter the same contest as her._

'_Well, good luck sis,' he said, laughing a little. He was dressed in a medieval costume, in shades of green. Adjusting the hat of his, he fumbled with a Pokéball on his belt, turning as he left backstage, ready for his performance._

'_Charmeleon, let's go!' he said, throwing the Pokéball with the lizard-like Pokémon within. It growled slightly, but turned back, focusing on the appeal._

'_Charmeleon, Smokescreen!' he said, as the Pokémon spewed out smoke from his mouth, covering the stage with black fumes. The crowd coughed a little, fanning themselves with their hands for some fresh air._

'_Alright, Flamethrower, then Crunch!' he called out. The Pokémon burst through the smoke, blowing fire from its mouth again, making rings of fire vertically, before jumping up high, spinning, and going straight down through the rings of flames, biting in the air as he continued to somersault through the hoops, landing on the stage perfectly, left paw on the ground, claws, readily piercing through the wood._

_The crowd went wild with excitement, as the judges gave their remarks, the eleven-year old boy running off the stage with the lizard tailing behind him._

'_And now, May from Petalburg City, Hoenn!' Momoan announced, as the brunette ran onto the stage. The spotlight was on her, as she ran her fingers through her hair, which was tied in a low ponytail. She wasn't in her usual red vest, and blue miniskirt and white shorts. She wore a pink dress, down to three quarters of her legs. There were little laced white ribbons on it, fitted nicely on her slim figure. Her fingers and arms were gloved in white, halfway to her elbows. She had a small silver ribbon around her waist, where her Pokéballs were placed. May took a step back, fingering a Pokéball in her pocket, holding it by her fingertips._

_She threw it gracefully, as the red and white capsule spun around, revealing her Blaziken. He roared, wrists flaring up with fire._

'_Blaziken, Fire Spin, then Sky Uppercut!' May instructed to the Pokémon, sticking a slender finger out, as she continued to smile confidently at the audience. The Blaze Pokémon let off a large amount of fire from its "beak", as the fire spun, spiralling upwards. Blaziken charged forth, throwing himself into the air, with a glowing claw._

'_Finish off with Blaze Kick!' she shouted, as Blaziken threw himself down this time, right foot on fire. The rest of the flames vanquished, with the tall Pokémon standing grandly in the center of the stage. May did a pose, as the crowd clapped most loudly. Taking a short bow, she exited, Blaziken right beside her._

'_Nice job sis, but Charmeleon was much more appealing then Blaziken,' the boy taunted to his sister, as she went a little red._

'_Whatever, Max. You just… did well for a first timer.'_

'_Oh, so you're admitting I'm a better Pokémon trainer __**and**__ coordinator than you?' he continued to act like a jerk, laughing a little._

'_Max! You've changed. So much,' she said, toning down as she looked down.'_

'_You're just jealous, I tell you.'_

_She was about to retort back at the arrogant trainer, as she turned to screen, as Momoan announced, 'Alright ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, here are the next four who will be battling in the next round.' She pointed to the screen, where two other coordinators faces appeared, along with May's and Max's. Max's was the second, May's the third. Max laughed again, saying that he did better than her, but she ignored._

_The next few battles went on, and the final match was about to begin. May was standing in one end of the stage, Max in the other. He smirked, 'Wow, you actually got to the finals.'_

'_Oh shut up. I'm going to beat you, and I'll make you so humiliated,' she threw back, as she waited for the signal._

'_Alright, coordinators, ready?' Momoan said, as she glanced at them, her yellow coat swishing a little. They nodded in return, as she pushed her hand down, 'Alright, begin!' The timer started from five minutes, as May threw her Pokéball._

'_Umbreon, stage it!' she said, throwing the Pokémon's Pokéball. It revealed the black coloured Pokémon, occasionally dotted with yellow coloured rings. The Moonlight Pokémon spun twice in the air, landing on the floor on all fours. Max only smiled, calling out his Gallade._

'_Gallade, let's go!' he cried out, as the Pokémon stuck out the two blades that protruded from his elbows, as he anchored his feet down on the floor, ready for combat._

_May had overlooked the fact that Gallade being both a Psychic __**and **__a Fighting type. She looked down at her Umbreon, who nodded back at her. She commanded for Assurance, a Dark-type attack. Umbreon sped forth to attack the Gallade, only for Max to laugh again, 'Leaf Blade!'_

_Gallade slammed a blade into the Umbreon's body, sending the Dark-type flying back, as she anchored her feet down, paws screeching a little as she skidded to a stop. May questioned whether Umbreon was still good, and smiled as the Pokémon nodded in response. May's points decreased by a fifth, as the brunette winced a little. The Umbreon jumped back to position, as she sent off a Shadow Ball. The black energy orb crashed on the unwary Gallade, sending him flying back. He somersaulted in mid air, landing gracefully on both feet, but a sixth of Max's points went down, May's also went down a little more, with the fact that Gallade managed to regain composure quickly._

_She bit on her lip, worried, 'Umbreon, Dark Pulse!' She had taught the Pokémon how to use that move, and it was close to perfection. The strange wave of energy pulsed through, and the stage seemed to have gotten black. Gallade looked around, pretending to be scared. However, Max stayed calm, replying to the attack confidently, 'Close Combat.'_

_The Blade Pokémon thrust himself forward, brutally smashing it's fists into the Umbreon, as May's points were depleted by a entire half. She gasped, as Gallade finally jumped back, Umbreon too weak to stand properly. She couldn't rush over, Umbreon and her would be disqualified as so._

'_Fury Cutter,' Max said, as Gallade slammed his glowing blades into the Umbreon. It cried out in pain, health too low for her to get up and retaliate to the Blade Pokémon's attacks. May staggered a little, too shocked at Umbreon's state to mouth an attack out. As Gallade was about to fire its final blow, Umbreon shot a Shadow Ball from her mouth, but the opponent had easily dodged out of its way, causing May's points to drop even further. She gasped, as May panicked a little, 'Shadow Ball, c'mon Umbreon!'_

_Max adjusted his glasses, the sunlight reflection on it caused Umbreon to be startled, as she blinked her eyes, trying to regain her vision, but Gallade had readied the final Leaf Blade. Max commanded the attack, as the Blade __Pokémon__ slammed into the Moonlight Pokémon mercilessly, as she lay on the floor, May's points depleted fully._

_Max sniggered lightly, as he turned to bow to the audience with Gallade, as he walked off the stage, laughing even more as May dropped to her knees, carefully picking up the weak Umbreon. She raised a black coloured paw, as the coordinator gently stroked her recently evolved Umbreon, as she nodded, Umbreon getting up weakly. She limped a little, as May quickly reacted, picking the Pokemon up as she hurried her to the __Pok__émon Center. She hurriedly handed the Umbreon, leaving her in Nurse Joy's hands, as she sat herself on a chair, sighing as the ran fingers through her hair. She looked up, seeing a figure before her. None other than Max. He snickered, as he said, rather rudely, 'Told you I'd beat you.'_

'_Whatever Max,' she retorted, hopeless at coming up with a good comeback at the time. He only laughed, smoothing out his black coloured long pants. He had a change of clothes, a larger green polo t-shirt with a white collar, and long pants in replacement of his shorts. What hadn't changed of him were those glasses he wore, that loser-like hairstyle, or as May perceived. He flicked his hair carelessly, like how Drew did every time they met, and laughed again. May fumed, annoyed with the whole laughing habit that her brother had picked up, which was very annoying, as she felt._

'_I'm amazed that the great May whom emerged top few in the Grand Festival couldn't even beat an __**immature, inexperienced, young**__ boy like me, or rather, __**her brother**__,' he taunted, as May just felt the urge to charge forth and strangle him, shaking him by the throat._

'_MAX!' she screamed, as Nurse Joy ran out from the back, glancing at them two. They zipped their mouths shut for that brief moment, as Nurse Joy returned to the back. She was still red with annoyance, as she said, 'You've changed. A lot.'_

'_Of course I have, now, if you excuse me, I shall be receiving my ribbon, and I should thank you too,' he said, causing May to look up, surprised, 'For losing so I could win this!' He added, as she dropped back into the seat, crying a little as Max signalled to her an 'L' shape with his fingers, only causing her to weep more. Those beads of tears curved along her face, dripping at her chin, wetting her gloved hands which were scrunched up, placed together with one another on her laps._

The brunette coordinatorlooked up at the sound of rippling, as she noticed a shadow in the water. She looked down, seeing a large Gyrados appear from the water, roaring at her as the coordinator stepped back, falling on her back, like a Shuckle upside down. She backed away, sending out Wartortle, as she commanded an Ice Beam. The jet of energy hit the Gyrados straight on the chest, but it was unfazed. Startled, she ordered a Rapid Spin this time. The turtle like Pokémon jumped into the air, throwing his own body with great force towards the large Atrocious Pokémon. It roared, a small dent had appeared on that large chunk of its body. It reared its mouth back, charging a glowing energy in its mouth, before releasing it with precise aim at the Wartortle, who fell back, recognizably fainted. She gasped, shaking the unconscious Pokémon a little, as the Gyrados glared back at her, ready to attack again. Its tail glowing a light blue, ready to strike her, as soft pink coloured petals threw it back, as May turned back, and the petals gradually stopping.

'Huh?'

The Roserade stepped out, smirking at May as she leapt into the air, charging a large Energy Ball in her hands, releasing it at the Pokémon.The Pokémonyelled, shaking the fins on his sides and flicking his tail madly, obviously showing signs of rage and fury. The Gyrados turned back to face the Bouquet Pokémon, who greeted him with the blast of light, which May had to personally shield her eyes from. Weakened greatly, it fell back into the water, defeated. May smiled happily, cradling her Wartortle as she returned the Pokémon to his Pokéball. The coordinator then faced the Roserade, who was smiling at her. It was rather familiar, as she bent down to touch the Pokémon on its head. She smiled, tilting her head a little as the girl stroked her.

'Hey, I could catch you!' she thought, as the Roserade backed away, growling a little as May scratched her head, confused. Both way, she had intention to add the Pokémon to her collection, and she wasn't taking no for an answer.

'Umbreon, let's go!' she said, throwing the Pokéball into the air, as the black coloured Pokéon spun in midair, landing on all fours as she growled, ready for battle.

'Dear dear May, you haven't learnt anything, have you?' a voice said, as Roserade quickly ran into the bushes, only to return with a man by her side. He was still the same – chartreuse hair, black shirt, purple jacket, green pants, the same old Drew she had known for so long. He smirked, flipping the loose bang that was hanging in front of his face, as usual. He smirked like how he always did, as May looked down, somewhat grateful but yet annoyed with the boy.

His emerald eyes shone under the bright sun, as May sat herself down to the pile of berries, quickly snatching one after the other, as Drew looked at her with the same blank face.

'You eat too much.'

'Hey, it's not easy travelling on your own. I don't get the same food that Brock always made,' her voice was muffled, as she grabbed herself another berry, downing it. Drew sighed, as he carelessly fingered a green coloured berry, rotating it with the fingers on his right hand. He leaned his chin on his left hand, carefully examining the berry with a bored expression plastered on his face. He lazily blew a loose bang away from his face, as the chartreuse hair of his went up, barely staying there for a second before flopping in front of his eyes again. He gave an annoyed look, before turning back to the lake, admiring its beauty. A small smiled lingered on the boy's lips, as May looked at him, biting her lip as she thought how she could strike a conversation.

'So… You got yourself a Roserade.'

'Roselia found herself a Shiny Stone, so I let her do what she wanted. And she learnt strong moves after that,' Drew said blankly, stroking the Bouquet Pokémon as she chirped. He extended a hand, brown Pokéblocks placed in the middle as she took them, nearing her mouth as she took the brown coloured food, one by one putting them in her mouth.

May looked at him, rather disappointed that he had ended the conversation, which had barely begun, to start with. She looked down, curling her feet to her chest as she rested her head down on her knees, brown hair bobbing a little as she let out an affirmed sigh. He glanced at her, placing a hand on hers as he said, 'I know what happened at Hearthome.'

She looked up, shocked that he had known. Making a muffled sound, she turned to a side, so that Drew would not see her so upset.

'Max changed. So much,' she said softly, whimpering a little. Drew looked up at her, as he replied, 'People change. He does too. And… you have to learn when to just get up and move on with life. You fell once, so what? When I first came to Sinnoh, I lost my first contest to some other coordinator. At the end of the day, you just have to pick yourself up, and keep moving on. If you're going to keep getting upset over one little failure, I won't expect to see you at the Grand Festival. It's a few more months, about ten or so, and time is running short. I can leave you to sit here, moping over some loss with your brother. Reunions aren't always pleasant, and this one wasn't.' He picked himself up, as he reached his hand out for her, 'So, I'm not going to stay down here, are you?'

Her sapphire orbs glistened with the slight tears in her eyes, as she nodded her head, sticking her gloved hand to grasp his. She pulled herself up on her feet, as the male coordinator smiled at May. She responded with a smile too, as she reacted rashly, hugging him. Drew was shocked, stunned, but mostly shocked.

'Thank you,' she said, as she released her grasp. He looked into his pocket, withdrawing a red rose. Put before her, she laughed lightly, 'For Beautifly? I left her at Petalburg…'

'No, for you,' he said, placing the flower in her hands. She went red, unable to speak, as she held it before herself, admiring its sheer beauty. She looked up, seeing the green-haired boy missing once again. '_Typical Drew_,' she thought, holding the red flower to her heart, closing her eyes as she blushed.

She looked up at the candy blue skies, seeing a little shadow, resembling a Flygon, if she hadn't been wrong. The female coordinator smiled, gently pocketing the rose as she picked Umbreon up in her arms, walking off to Veilstone. Her next contest awaited her.

It was a brand new day. And she was on a brand new journey.

&&

**A/N: Hey guys, hope you liked the story. I don't do much romance, more of Friendship kind of stories, and this one was rather long, and I like it. Yes, I gave Max the bad character role, but it seemed to fit. I pictured him becoming an arrogant, underestimating kind of Pok****émon trainer, but it really seems to fit the boy, yeah? Well, as long as you, the great reader, enjoyed it, I'm happy with that.**

**I would love a review, and I do need to find some good critic, because I would love to improve my style of writing. If possible, I wonder if anyone can find my style of writing, because I am uncertain. Do review; leave me a PM, anything, except flaming and emailing me. I don't welcome such annoying and immature people that love to criticise people just because it is not what they want for content or anything.**

**I thank all of you once again, and I apologise sincerely for the delay of 'Sweetest Rose'.**

**DDD - dewdropdread**


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